EVENTING NATION

When I wrote my Red Hills wrap up I truly thought that was the end of my Tallahassee tales for the year, even though I did title it, "It aint over..." so maybe subconsciously I wasn't ready to put it to bed, and, Lo and Behold, there is a sequel.

"I am a serious technology nerd, and a die-hard, no compromises, Apple person...  I have in front of me at the office right now: a new 13" MacBook with a 22" screen attached to it, an iPad 2 sitting on a stand next to an iPhone 4 on a charger, and an iMac from 1999 (that a neighbor tried to throw out) on a shelf here in my office that I've torn the insides out of and turned into a TV... At home, there's a 2008 iMac, another MacBook, 4 iPods, an iPhone 3G, three wireless routers, and I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting.  I have a technology problem.  All of that to say that I was quite eager to get the new iPad a few weekends back, and it's pretty fantastic!! 

As far as professionally, I work for The Nature Conservancy here in Tallahassee, mainly as a lobbyist at the state and federal levels, and in my spare time I do contract graphic design work.  The iPad 2 was actually a result of one of the graphic design jobs, which happened to time out nicely with when the invoice was processed and when the iPad was released. 

Dressage day at RH was the same as the release of the new iPad, as you know.  Lisa was riding Kenzo at 2:40, and so I left work at lunch so that I could see her ride and spend some time in the stables with her and my mom.  On the way out to the grounds, I swung into Target to see what their plans were for the launch at 5, and when the mgr that I happened to run into said that they only had 5 units in the store, I told him that I had to have one, waiting a month for shipping wasn't an option, and that I'd gladly hang out in the outdoor furniture section for the next three and a half hours if that was necessary, BUT (this is where RH comes in) I was supposed to go watch my sister ride at Red Hills, and I was really concerned that I wouldn't be able to be back until around 3:30 at the earliest, so what should I do?  Would it be necessary to wait, and miss her ride, or is there something he could do that would ensure that as long as I came back early, I would still be the first in line?  Keep in mind, there had been a line forming outside of Best Buy across town at 11:30 that morning, so I was pretty concerned that not staying at Target all afternoon would cost me.  

It appeared that because I told him I had to leave, but was willing, if I had to, to miss her ride caused him to start a list of people that showed up for the iPad.  They only had 5, and an hour after I left to go to the Trials, the list was at 7 people--I just happened to be first on that list.  So, when I rolled back in there at 4, there were 4 other people waiting, and we sat around the store for an hour until the clocks changed to 5:00 on the registers.  They scanned the box instantly, and I would assume that I was one of the first people in the world to own one. The whole thing took less than 60 seconds, my receipt actually says 5:00.  

I decided to tape stadium to see how the quality was, since the video camera capabilities were such a big part of the remodel from the original iPad.  I've actually got the same kind of tape of whomever it was that finished 2nd in the 3-star, that was my first test of the camera.  I do have the blue Smart Cover from the commercials, it's quite a feat of engineering, actually.  My wife was in Philly that weekend, and she actually had to go to the Apple Store there to get the cover and the stand, because no one in town had extra covers, they only had enough for the devices in stock, if they had them at all.  So it was Sunday before I had the cover, but that was ok. People have been coming up to me in the Capitol for the last two weeks asking how the whole device is...

Functionally, it's already changed what I take with me to the Capitol.  I can do virtually everything that I'd need to do over there on it, from pulling down bill language to Committee Hearing packets, schedules, etc. I can edit documents, handle all my email accounts, and frankly the built-in calendar app is one of the best electronic calendars I've seen.  I carry a lot less paper now, so it's lightened up what I need to have on me, which is nice as it gets hotter up here, less bulk is a good thing.  It's also a nice thing to be able to show legislators maps and things on the screen, where I can zoom in to see specific parcels of land, or their individual district, which isn't possible on one sheet of paper, obviously."

"I actually rode quite a bit as a kid (don't remember what I got to in Pony Club, mom maintains that I was talented), but as horses are to Lisa, hockey was to me, so pretty much everything else went away.  Its great to get to see Lisa ride though, which is something that I rarely get to do.  She really had a great weekend, and I know she was pumped about having the best XC time & finishing 3rd, plus she really liked the new water jump...

Red Hills in Tallahassee is actually quite popular, I'm very impressed with the way that the event is put on, and how the community supports it. The whole place was quite sad when they cancelled the event a couple years ago.  I'm really impressed by the transport methods from the parking for spectators.

The public address announcers at RH at least do a great job of putting little factoids and tidbits in their color commentary, which I think for those who don't know what they're really looking at, makes things make more sense.  I like the colored jackets for the international riders, that's a nice touch and I also loved Jessica Phoenix's Team Canada helmet for stadium, that was pretty awesome. 

I do think there's a need, though, at least at RH, for some more bleacher-type (for XC) seating, it's rather tough to see more than a few jumps from any one place, which may be just a reality of the RH grounds more than anything else. The sound system could be a bit more imposing, it was a bit tough to hear depending on where you were around the XC course. People genuinely do look forward to the event here, though, it's a big deal to this town.  We don't get a lot of exciting visitors, it's mostly just government and college kids in Tallahassee, so when RH comes to town, there's a lot of buzz. I wonder if that's the case at other events, or if this is unique because of the location? 

Overall, though, it does seem like there's a lot of goodwill & friendship between the competitors, but with the scheduling the way it is, it seemed to me like most people were all business in the stables.  However, it does appear that outside the barns, and at night, it's a different story.  From what I've heard, there's a Lewis Black joke that applies, I think... "You are NOT alcoholics... you're professionals." 

 And you apparently all wear the same boots--those Dubarry ones with the stripes--it's a bit like Birkenstocks at a Phish concert. "